Hi! I am trying to bake some cookies for a vegan friend. I thought this would be an easy task, but as I look at recipes, I realize I dont have any of the right ingredients and dont know where to get them. Any advise?
Are there any simple recipes with ingredients that a non vegan may already have? I have non dairy milk, I dont have any kind of nut butters. I do not have whole wheat flour.. is that necessary for vegan baking or just preferred?

Accepted Answer

I recommend starting out the easy way and only finding recipes that use vegan margarine, non-dairy milk and, if you can find it at the local health food store, golden flax seeds as an egg replacer. If you can't find golden flax, regular flax will do. It will just show up a little more in your finished product. I recommend buying the seeds and grinding them yourself because 1) they will be easier to find and 2) they will be as fresh as possible. Pre-ground flax is also sold as meal but by the time it ends up in your baked product it's usually starting to go rancid which will negatively impact your treats. Store any left over flax meal in the freezer for future baking projects. I store a jar at my parent's house that I use every year for the Holidays and it usually lasts a few years.

With those three ingredients you can make most vegan cookies without using any more exotic ingredients. Here are some ideas:

I recommend treating whole wheat flour in vegan baking just as you would in regular baking. It's going to make your finished product taste mealy if you use it as 100% of your flour so use it sparingly. There are lots of vegan bakers out there who love to bake "healthy" desserts and use it as 100% but I don't recommend it. Usually you can get away with a ratio of 1 part whole wheat flour to 3 parts unbleached wheat flour or so in most recipes except for things like shortbread or sugar cookies where a delicate lightness would be desired.

Latest Comments

"These were perfect!
They are a little too spongy straight out of the oven, but after they cool down they are perfect!
I've been looking for a "go to" cupcake recipe for a while now and this is going to be it!
thanks!"

"Love this butter! Delicious taste, nicely buttery, easy to make and palm oil free (unlike most store bought stuff). I used only apple cider vinegar and didn't notice any 'vinegary' taste. So far I used it on bread, in mashed potatoes and baked vegan croissants - works great! I've tried it with different unsweetened soy milk and it worked best with alpro brand. Thank you for the recipe!"

""Vegetable" oils are yet another example of vegan health fraud that has caused massive death and disease in the human population. Which I'm sure vegans secretly delight in since they hate human beings more than they love animals. Anybody citing CSPI is a fraudster in my books."

Latest Comments

"These were perfect!
They are a little too spongy straight out of the oven, but after they cool down they are perfect!
I've been looking for a "go to" cupcake recipe for a while now and this is going to be it!
thanks!"

"Love this butter! Delicious taste, nicely buttery, easy to make and palm oil free (unlike most store bought stuff). I used only apple cider vinegar and didn't notice any 'vinegary' taste. So far I used it on bread, in mashed potatoes and baked vegan croissants - works great! I've tried it with different unsweetened soy milk and it worked best with alpro brand. Thank you for the recipe!"

""Vegetable" oils are yet another example of vegan health fraud that has caused massive death and disease in the human population. Which I'm sure vegans secretly delight in since they hate human beings more than they love animals. Anybody citing CSPI is a fraudster in my books."

The 1st of October is Vegan Baking Day. A day to spread vegan baking by sharing tasty eats with your community!

The 1st of October is Vegan Baking Day. A day to spread vegan baking by sharing tasty eats with your community!